Welcome to our e-newsletter where we aim to keep New Zealand and overseas visitors to our website informed and entertained with news from the grove and afar.

 

August 2010

Regular readers will know how busy June and July was at LOT EIGHT. Well, that was an understatement. August has us both running and in September we will need wings. Read on for details. 

We wished Colin a very happy birthday. Born 1 August means we start the month with celebrations which is a great way to start a month. It is also a special time as we are generally nearing, or have reached the end of harvest, which sets the scene for a great combined celebration.  

At Lot Eight, we have established a tradition of going to a movie and enjoying a meal together to mark the birthday and this day was no different. Our Wellington family members got together and went to the movie 'Inception' however it wasn't really the birthday boy’s kind of movie.  According to reviewers he is now too old for this genre of movie. 

All was redeemed, thank god with a meal at Boulcott Street Bistro (BSB). Some readers may not know that BSB first opened it's door 20 years ago and continues to deliver the dining experience we all hope to have regardless of what day of the week we arrive at this renowned establishment. Rex Morgan was in the kitchen that birthday Sunday and we settled in for a great night out. 20 years of delivering excellence speaks volumes about the caliber of the team that is BSB and our meal was proof of their dedication to food. In our situation, they also helped redeem a day that was fast turning into a disappointment thanks to 'Inception'. 

Retrospectively, the list of August born famous people is bound to make Colin happy - Itzhak Perlman, Van Morrison, Bradford Marsalis, Robert Plant and Barack Obama, a man we are grateful to since the name Barack, has suddenly made it easier for people to pronounce our surname.

That week followed the visit to Wellington by Rick Stein. Like many, we decided to see the magic of a live show with a famous chef cooking, answering questions and directing a team of helpers while critiquing our food and wines. In our case, this experience was a birthday present and the expectation was that much higher than usual. Alas, we decided that this was not a form of medium we enjoy. Food to us involves taste and touch and despite sitting 5 rows from the front, the generous space proved too big to let the smells filter through. We are huge fans of Rick Stein and his books adorn our bookshelves but it has to be said that the only truly satisfying experience would involve siting in his restaurant eating food prepared by the man himself. Now that he has a restaurant in Sydney, the chances of this is quite possible. The show did leave us hungry, so we decided to catch a quick meal at Logan Brown before heading home. The kitchen there is under the culinary jurisdiction of Shaun Cloustan, another food magician whom we consider an honour to supply our olive oils. A South Island function had Shaun out of the restaurant that night not that we noticed. The food convinced us that Shaun was sweating over the stove down in the 'dungeon' kitchen until a quick trip into the kitchen to say thanks proved otherwise. Is it any surprise then that this restaurant is always full. On our way out, we noticed a large table with none other than Rick Stein at the head. Nothing further needs to be said.

 

The Tasting Room and Commercial Kitchen at the Lot Eight olive grove is busy.  Weekend escapees to Martinborough keep us happily busy and we have enjoyed meeting people and sharing food experiences which will keep us entertained for months. 

We welcomed 'Wellington on a Plate' with an in-store tasting at Kirkcaldie and Stains, our gourmet stockist in Wellington.  It was a great rehearsal for the next event, at which we took a key role in organizing with the historic Museum of Wellington. This proved another August highlight for numerous reasons. The days building up to the 14th saw us frantically preparing for all sorts of questions that may arise at this wine, olive oil and food match event. As it turned out we had a thoroughly enjoyable 3 sessions during which we learnt as much as we taught others. Food is ultimately about personal choice and personal food experiences. It was an honour to meet people who can create great meals from a hand full of good fresh ingredients. Our sincere thanks to the organisers of the Museum event, 'Feast and Vine' and a special thanks to Cory Anderson in particular at the Museum of Wellington for his commitment to promoting Greater Wellington food and wine produce.

We can now say that we understand the world of 'food bloggers'. This is not only thanks to 'Wellington on a Plate' and the bloggers who attended our sessions, but also to that other new concept to us, 'Pop Up’ restaurants. We are pleasantly surprised by the concept.  Wellington’s first experience of such an event  occurred on Sunday 15 August when the “WLG” restaurant 'popped up' at the defunct Rialto Cinema site on Wakefield Street. We were privileged to join fellow suppliers for a truly fun night. For details and a pleasant read, refer to  'David Burton's' article in the 'Dom Post' of the 16th of August. Having lived in a large extended family environment, I always feel great  about communal feasts. Well, this event would have made my entire family very happy. It had a real buzz and energy similar to an Indian wedding. There is food everywhere and people moving at great speed as the food and wine is delivered warm and tasty to be consumed with the same amount of energy and delight.  I understand pop up restaurants are a common thing in places like London and I am hooked. We cannot wait to be part of the next 'Pop Up' in Wellington and it pays to know how to get a seat as the 2 days were oversubscribed with even more people wanting to get in. 

The Wellington Pop Up restaurant was a warm-up act for the Sydney Pop Up restaurant planned for September. We have the pleasure of bringing our extra virgin olive oils, Citrus olive oil and Spicy Olives to 'Sydneyites' and we are very excited about this. Please feel free to forward this newsletter to friends and family in Sydney or people here who may have friends and family in Sydney.  There will be more information coming through soon so look out for updates on our bulletin board and for our 'special newsletter releases' between now and mid-September. 

Back to food bloggers for a moment. If you haven’t visited a food blogg site before, we would highly recommend 'www.dlish.co.nz ', New Zealand's leading food blogg site and 'www.souvlakiforthesoul.com ' a Sydney based food blogger with a special love of olive oil made from Greek olive varieties. Visit their website but preferably after a meal, as the pictures alone will have you salivating. 

 

Our newsletter cannot end without a salute to two women in Wellington. These two women are the face of 'Grow Wellington ' and its food festival, 'Wellington on a Plate". Anna Head and Sarah Meikle make the festival look like the work of an army of workers and we are very grateful for their dedication to food and to the Wellington region. 

Look out for our September newsletter as we bring you news of 'official' duties and how we are doing against our expectations.

 

Nalini with the wonderful support of Colin and their loving team at LOT EIGHT

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